March 31, 2026

An agricultural economist with the University of Illinois says the USDA’s Prospective Plantings Report shows more farmers plan to plant soybeans this year. However, Joe Janzen says the shift in acres fell below pre-report estimates. “With this continued slow decline in U.S. crop acreage, we saw this swing from corn to soybeans being 1,000,000 acres […] The post Soybean prices jump on Prospective Plantings Report appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

An extension agronomist who covers southeast and east central Iowa says most farmers in her area are in good shape with fertilizer. Rebecca Vittetoe with Iowa State University tells Brownfield a lot of manure gets applied in the fall. “So I would say a lot of that fertilizer already has gone on, especially like phosphorous […] The post Fall fertilizer applications a boost for some Iowa farmers appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Soybeans were higher on short covering and technical buying, along with the weakness in the dollar during the session. The USDA expects soybean planted area to be up 4% on the year, which was towards the low end of analysts’ estimates and less than what the department was projecting during February’s Ag Outlook Forum. Quarterly […] The post Soybeans see gains after lower than expected acreage estimate appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were higher, optimistic about the week’s business.  April live cattle closed $3.47 higher at $243.02 and June live cattle closed $3.07 higher at $243.27.  April feeder cattle closed $5.82 higher at $369.12 and May feeder cattle closed $5.15 higher at $366.57.  Direct cash cattle trade activity […] The post Cattle futures higher ahead of the week’s direct business appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

May corn $4.57 and 3/4, up 2 centsMay soybeans $11.71, up 11 and 1/4 centsMay soybean meal $316.40, up $1.50May soybean oil 68.88, up 41 pointsMay Chicago wheat $6.16 and 1/4, up 9 and 1/4 centsApr. live cattle $243.02, up $3.47Apr. feeder cattle $369.12, up $5.62Apr. lean hogs $90.42, down 5 centsApr. Class III milk […] The post Closing Grain and Livestock Futures: March 31, 2026 appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Sorghum planted area is projected to decline in 2026. The USDA expects 6.12 million acres of to be planted to sorghum this year, down 8% from last year. Ongoing drought in the Plains likely had at least some impact on farmer planting intentions, with the biggest decreases coming in Kansas and Texas. The USDA’s weekly […] The post Sorghum acres at least partially impacted by drought in Plains appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The president of AgResource Company says higher costs of production for corn could result in a long-term shift toward more soybean acres in the U.S. Dan Basse says the soybean market had a positive reaction to the USDA’s March Prospective Plantings Report. “We saw soybean futures gaining on corn following the report,” he says. “As we ramp up production from the RVO announcement […] The post Market analyst says high input costs driving long-term shift toward more U.S. soybean acreage appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A veterinarian says producer education and herd monitoring are critical to protecting the U.S. cattle herd from New World screwworm. Dr. Thach Winslow, outside cattle veterinary consultant for Elanco’s beef business unit says if New World screwworm were to enter the U.S. early identification will be key.  “People say, what’s the most important thing I can put […] The post U.S. cattle producers urged to focus on management as the risk of NWS continues appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association says he’s disappointed there’s still no permanent solution for nationwide, year-round E15. Geoff Cooper says despite multiple missed deadlines for a legislative solution, he’s still optimistic. “We were hoping we would see that before everybody left town for Easter break. That didn’t happen.”  He says, “Of […] The post RFA optimistic historic RVOs mean E15 isn’t far behind appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story